The Breivik Interrogations: Norway Massacre Suspect Reveals All But Motive
Breivik has confessed to the crimes, but shown no regret. In fact, he says that he had planned to set off another bomb and kill even more people.
During the interrogations, he answers questions politely and explains things articulately. “One gets the impression,” Rachlew says, “that he doesn’t want to stop talking.” Breivik is reportedly also well mannered.
Since his arrest on July 22, Breivik has been sitting at least once a week in one of two light-blue armchairs at a small, round table made of spruce wood. Nothing is left to chance in Room 6030 on the seventh floor of police headquarters in Oslo. The room temperature is kept at 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), and a thermostat regulates the humidity. The armchairs do not face each other directly so that Breivik isn’t forced to look his interrogator in the eyes.
“We don’t want any confrontation,” Rachlew says. The room is supposed to feel cozy, he adds, which explains the checkered curtains in front of the one-way glass and the wool carpet on the wall.
“We want him to talk to us and to remember things,” Rachlew says, including each individual face he looked at before pulling the trigger.
All What, No Why
Breivik has already sat in this interrogation room 14 times, for more than 100 hours of questioning. The transcript of what he has said about the car bomb and his massacre on Utøya Island is 430 pages long. The content of the interrogations is secret and will serve as the basis for the trial set to begin next year.
The investigators need to form an image for themselves of Breivik and his crimes. The family members want to know how he killed their children, where they hid and whether they had to suffer for long.
“We go through each shooting with him, including all the details,” Rachlew says.
But the question that remains unanswered and incomprehensible for the investigators — as well as for the families and the rest of the world — is why.
What makes a person act is such a cold-blooded way? How can someone go from being a somewhat disturbed proponent of an insidious conspiracy theory to a terrorist and mass murderer?
